The Files.com Agent is an installable piece of software that allows you to integrate any supported on-premise or cloud hosted system with Files.com.

It provides a convenient method for securely connecting remote file systems with Files.com, allowing you to push and pull files between Files.com and local file systems. Local file systems can include locally attached storage, such as local disks and drives, and network attached storage, such as file share clusters and network drives that use CIFS, SMB, and NFS.

The Agent can be used to integrate your business processes that use on-premise file storage locations with Files.com. It allows you to use your on-premise folders as sources or destinations for FTP(S), SFTP, AS2, and WebDAV connections. You can make your on-premise folders become sources or destinations for automations and workflows. On-premise folders can become destinations for inboxes, allowing you to easily collect data. Your on-premise folders can become sources for outboxes, share links, and public hosting, allowing for data distribution to any audience. You can also push, pull, or synchronize data between your on-premise folders and other storage providers such as Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Storage, Google Drive, BackBlaze B2, Box, Dropbox, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft OneDrive, Rackspace Cloud Files, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, and more.

Any attached or mounted storage that the operating system has permission to access can be used with the Agent. The Agent can only access storage locations that the underlying operating system has access to.

How the Agent Works

The Agent will connect to your Files.com site using a secure encrypted connection from the host system.

Once connected, your Files.com site will be able to connect to the Agent host as a Remote Server. The file system on the Agent host becomes part of your site's file ecosystem, allowing you to seamlessly integrate on-premise folders with your cloud-based site and its capabilities.

The Agent runs as a system service, allowing it to start automatically at boot and operate without manual intervention.

Setting Up the Files.com Agent

There are 3 steps to setting up an Agent. First, create a Remote Server for the Agent in your Files.com site. Next, download and install the Agent to the system that you want the Agent to run on. Finally, install the Agent as a system service and start it.

The Agent uses a configuration file to control what it can access on the host machine, how it connects to the Files.com platform, and how it generates log files. This configuration file is generated automatically by your Files.com site, and the system administrator of the host machine can modify the settings as needed. This gives a system administrator the opportunity to review an Agent's configuration in cases where the Agent was created by someone else.

Once the Agent service is running, you can use its Remote Server on Files.com to access local folders and integrate them with other Files.com features and capabilities. Use a Remote Mount to access local folders interactively through Files.com or use a Remote Sync to push files to, and pull files from, folders on the system that is hosting the Agent.

Creating a Remote Server

Create a new Remote Server and select Files.com Agent from the list of available remote server types.

Enter a name for this connection. This internal name is only used to reference this connection to this Agent.

Select the permissions for the Agent. These permissions will restrict Files.com to only be able to perform those actions.

Enter the full path of a root folder for the Agent. Use a path that exists on the host system. This setting specifies the top-level folder that the Agent can access. Files and folders that exist within this root folder can be accessed by the Agent. Locations outside this root folder can only be accessed if you use the Agent's Follow links feature.

Download the Agent that corresponds to your host operating system.

Download the configuration file to the system that will be hosting the Agent.

You can now use the downloaded binary and configuration file to install the Agent as a system service.

Downloading and Installing

Download and install the Agent version that corresponds with your host system.

Running the Agent

Install the Agent as a system service, and start the service.

The Agent will only run on the system that it has been installed on. However, it can access network attached folders that have been mounted on that system.

Agent Status

The Agent will connect to Files.com to register its current status. To confirm the status of the Agent, review the Remote Server configuration for the Agent. The following fields will show the Agent status information:

Add Remote Server Mount

Once the Agent has connected, you can use it for Remote Server Mounts.

Add Remote Server Sync

Once the Agent has connected, you can use it for Remote Syncs.